Tag Archives: England

Foreign policy, its in the news…a lot…it is one of the things that is consuming the country the most. And large amounts of American tax payers. It’s an issue that, probably cannot be just explained with only one blog, but needs many and has many different aspects to the single discussion.

It’s an issue and a topic that I have been wanting to discuss, and even have talked about in the past. After all I have done blogs about our Military, Israel, and the Middle East.

And its an issue that is near and dear to the founding of our nation, and our constitution, just what the US’s global rule should be.

It’s a conversation and a topic where millions of lives, billions of dollars, are at stake. And potentially our very way of life.

And despite our founders warnings on the subject, it is clear, by the Constitution, that we need to have one.

While many on the right and farther to the right of me, Libertarians, will often quote Jefferson on this issue.

“Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”

Notice the part about entangling Alliances. Notice also the part about friendship and commerce with nations…implies alliances. And notice that…for Jefferson…this is a pretty ideal statement. The Founders just fought a war against Great Britain in the Revolution, and was about to again. They had enemies, and friends. This is something to strive for.

So, it is clear because the Constitution gives the power to our Government bodies to have a Foreign policy (Conduct War, sign treaties, raise an army, appoint ambassadors, and talk to nations), that Jefferson was trying to state what he hoped that Foreign policy would one day look like.

In looking at this issue, I can come up with three divisions, three types of Foreign policy that needs to be recognized. Two of them can be or should be, at times…economics and politics willing. While the other one must not be used under any circumstance.

One, Military or Trade Alliances and friendships with nations.

Two, Charity in the event of National Disaster or great upheaval.

Three, giving copious amounts of money to a Government that is about to fail without asking for much, without any consent, or without any guarantees that this money will be beneficial to the United States.

Military Alliances, et all. They can be good and bad. And it is usually dictated by how similar we are, what we share, what we the United States get back for the United States. Our values, our objectives, our goals and how they help the United States.

But not all alliances are created equal. Especially in a time of great financial upheaval, especially with massive debt and budget short falls, and especially since we are spending billions overseas in various adventures *que Indiana Jones music*, we need to consider who our friends are in the world.

Who shares some of our morals, our values, our Government, and our objectives, and will also help to defend us, even in the smallest of ways.

Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Libyan rebels…are any of these places friendly to the US? Does a Government exists now, or will exist, that shares anything in common with us? Do we even know who is in charge in those places, especially in regards to the Libyan Rebels? Do these people contribute anything to us? What about the people and the society in the streets? Do they like us? Do they support us? Or do they want to wipe us out? And hopefully you can answer these questions.

Israel, England, Australia, Canada…and others. Are generally our allies. They generally share our views in the world and generally share our Governmental objectives (though in the current climate that is kinda scary.)

They will support us and try to defend us. They share information and intelligence with us, and will be with us through thick and thin. Or have been in the past…everything is changing.

We give them money and help them develop defense and weapons systems that can be used to keep their citizens safe from harm. Which in turn can be used with our military, and to protect our Civilians.

And as long as they are willing to fight for themselves, as mutual partners, we can support you. If we have the money.

Two, Charity.

In wild fires, or hurricanes, or earthquakes, cause great harm and damage. These are events that can overwhelm, even the most prepared.

We as Americans can help. And the good thing is we can usually come up with a way to help. The best way, is, through Private Charity. This is something that the Government does not even have to always provide for. Every bit helps.

And then three.

Nations, like Greece, our under massive financial burdens, a collapsing economy, and a collapsing Government.

They are asking, crying, for help from the World. Including the United States, to give them copious amounts of money to try to stabilize their Government.

As far as I can tell, no questions asked, no guarantees, and though the Greeks are seeming to stick to their Austerity guns, I just do not know if it will keep up. I do not know what the benefit of this is to the United States.

We are not a money farm. We can help where we can if worse comes to worse, but we should not bail anyone out.

In looking at all of this, it is clear that our Foreign Policy decisions of recent years just are not working. We need a new path. What that is I am not sure, we are in a rock in a hard place around the world. But I have faith that we can begin to turn the corner. If we start now.

A lot has been happening to me that has led to the formation and creating of this blog.

Talking to friends, talking about various political issues with them and votes on certain things have effected the way I view things.

First of all, probably the cornerstone of this blog and the rest of my ideology is a complicated notion. I was told by one of my friends on the forum that I frequent that I tend to look for a ‘political solution’ after saying…erroneously..that I hated politics.

This was funny but it was also sigh worthy and just shows me the state my own life in and the country is in.

I am not looking for a political solution, I think…and have been shown, that is not inherently the answer to all the country’s ills.

But it says something about our current state of affairs that we have to have, at least in part, a political solution. Because we do need the politicians, at least in part…some of them..a small number of them in order to fix the problem that they started. Because it seems like We the People are going one way and the Politicians are going another, at least in part, at least in this country.

The second part, perhaps the most ironic part is that I was talking to a friend from England, about that country’s recent elections was interesting.

He said that he would change politics based on what party was in power and what party was against them. Now I know what he meant, but I just found the statement to be of some interest.

I would never change policies just because of some party in power or what not. An ironic statement given that President Obama has outed me as a Libertarian and has made me a lot more weary on things that I was not weary about in the previous eight years of the Bush administration.

But it is not because of Obama so much.

It is about all of it, the whole issues that are raised to us.

There was an interesting bill that just came before the Senate. One of the ‘audit the fed bills.’ Now I do not know the exact details of the bill, or if there was something buried in the heart of it that might have made the bill not that good.

But on the face of it is like the twilight zone. Scott Brown voted against it, Kyl voted against it, and I thought he was a pretty strong Senator in such things. But regardless it finally got me to a place and a position and a realization that I have not been before.

It’s not about the parties, it is about the individual and the fundamental principles.

The parties are quite meaningless, irrelevant and not that good for America.

It’s about the individual, and not the party. I know I said awhile back, I think I did anyways, on this blog, that the parties are fighting over this and it is no longer really about the Government, but about the parties, about the party, and that just smacks about the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

Well there is nothing more European or more ‘European Tracks’ then just having to choose a party or a power base in order to be led.

Nazis and Communists. All with the same basic idea, just that there slight variation on the theme of big Government.

And here we are, because honestly the more time goes on the more I am beginning to feel like we are being sold down the river by both parties. That both parties keep on betraying us and our ideals and our principles and the will of the people.

The Democrats certainly would not be where they are without Republican help, certainly now and even through some of the past expansions of Government.

Sure there are some good individuals in our Governments and in our system, some great individuals.

But that is the point I think. We need, generally, a party structure. But it should not be about the parties.

Our founders gave us a system of individual rights, not collective rights, that the individual and ultimately the individual states have all the power and all the rights over our own lives.

That we are endowed by our creator by certain inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and then the other rights in our Bill of Rights.

So if this is so great a system for us and how we are supposed to be as a country and as a Government then why is it not a good system for those we elect as our representatives?

If we stick with just looking at the parties that is a path to insanity and frustration, the only hope we have is if we concentrate on the individual and his or her greatness, and his or her commitment to liberty.

Only then do we have a chance, and by restoring our responsibilities to Government, that we have a chance as a people.